(April 2): Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Najib Razak are both "great men" with different ideas about running the country, an Umno lawmaker said, and it will be up to them to decide if both should meet to sort out their differences, an Umno lawmaker said today.

Public Accounts Committee chairman (PAC) Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said there was no reason for Najib to resign as he was still a great leader who commanded support.

The Pulai MP was responding to Dr Mahathir's blog post today in which he said Malaysians no longer trusted Najib and that Barisan Nasional would lose the next general election if the Umno president continued to lead it.

"That is his (Mahathir's) opinion, but it is not the issue. As long as Najib commands support from the party and the people, why should he resign?

"Both are great men who have differing views on the country's direction. Whether they will meet, that is up to them," Nur Jazlan said after chairing a PAC meeting in Parliament today.

Nur Jazlan was commenting on Dr Mahathir's harshest criticism of Najib to date and whether the two leaders would be able to resolve their differences.

Following Dr Mahathir's blog post, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim suggested that Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor act as mediator between the two leaders

Dr Mahathir had said Malaysians did not trust Najib and predicted that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose the next polls if he were to remain in power.

The former prime minister also listed down various allegations made against Najib and noted that none of them had been adequately answered, including the murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and the claims made by one of her convicted murderers, former commando Sirul Azhar Umar, a former bodyguard of Najib's.

Dr Mahathir had also delved into the problems surrounding Finance Ministry-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), questioning the need for Putrajaya to give it a standby credit facility of almost RM1billion, the fund's purchase of government land and its dubious deal with little-known oil company, PetroSaudi International.

Nur Jazlan said the issues brought up by Dr Mahathir had been repeated countless times since last year.

It is not the first time that the former prime minister has criticised Najib, but his post today was one of the harshest written to date.

Dr Mahathir had also questioned the source of funds for Najib's stepson Riza Aziz to purchase luxury properties in New York through businessman Low Taek Jho.

He also did not spare mention of the new private jet purchased for Najib, describing it as a "waste" since the government already had other jets to use, and added that foreign media reports of 1MDB and Najib's links with Low had "embarrassed" the country. – The Malaysian Insider